By Bernice Bessey
Vodafone Ghana has delivered 50 Alcatel age-friendly headset phones to Help Age Ghana, a non-profitable organisation that advocates and takes care of the needs of elderly people in the country.
The newly-designed and affordable Alcatel One Touch 282 has special features that enhances the mobile experience of elderly people, according to the Vodafone Ghana Head of Consumer Marketing, Mr. Jesse Agyepong.
He said the donation was part of the telecom giant’s social intervention to bring relief to people, even in the comfort of their homes. He noted that most elderly people had visual and hearing impediments, which makes it difficult for them to use other handsets that do not have special features such big labeled keys that allow the aged to see clearly, an inbuilt radio and SOS emergency key.
“The SOS enables users to make customised calls and send text messages to a variety of contacts. It has an enhanced hearing aid feature, which makes it easy for the hearing impaired. It comes with a handy charging dock, which can hold the headset at home,” Mr. Agyapong added.
He said social interventions like Healthline 255, and weekly telecast of how to prevent and treat diseases, are one of the few ways through which Vodafone was reaching out to communities, despite its focus on providing telecommunication services.
“Our commitment to delivery and inclusion at Vodafone Ghana ensures that we serve all our customers, regardless of their age and gender. We specifically took delivery of these phones, because we want to satisfy the needs of particularly the elderly who want a very simple mobile experience,” said the Vodafone team leader, Iris Owusu-Manu.
Aaron Mensah, National Coordinator of Help Age Ghana, thanked the red and white branded communication operators on behalf of the elderly. The Coordinator, even though was grateful for the donation, expressed worry over the manner in which some people ignore and manhandle the aged.
He said Ghana, even though was developing, doesn’t have enough laws that protect and seek the rights of the elderly. He urged people to refrain from mistreating the aged, because “aging is not a disease, but a stage in life. If you don’t respect the aged, don’t expect to be an elderly one day.”